Operation Soaring Eagle

Operation Soaring Eagle (9-14 September 1972) was a military operation of the Vietnam War carried out by United States and South Vietnamese soldiers in September 1972. The Americans and South Vietnamese were supported by Huey gunships, mortars, and B-52 bombers in an offensive operation in southern Laos, and the Viet Cong and Pathet Lao communists were forced to retreat.

Background
As US troop numbers in South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia decreased, the Pathet Lao and Viet Cong troop numbers surged upwards and communist forces closed in on the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon. President Richard Nixon authorized a cross-border operation into Laos with the goal of damaging Viet Cong supply flows coming from the border regions. Soviet troops in the area were pulled back to avoid warfare with the United States, but the Pathet Lao and Viet Cong troops entrenched in the jungles and readied themselves for battle.

Battle
The MACV-SOG and ARVN troops left Firebases Dragoon, Murphy, and Switch on 9 September 1972 with assistance from US B-52 bombers, Huey gunships, and mortar teams. The Allied troops moved up the Mekong River and used napalm against villages containing Pathet Lao or Viet Cong troops, effectively wiping out 50 acres of jungle. The Allied troops then proceeded on to cross the border into Laos and Laotian soldiers assisted in clearing out their sector. However, the communist forces in the area remained strong in their jungles and villages. American airstrikes destroyed three villages in the main operating area, and Viet Cong and Pathet Lao forces were forced out of their hiding spots. American and South Vietnamese forces then proceeded to napalm the area and respond to advances by the Viet Cong and Pathet Lao with small arms fire. One Soviet helicopter was riddled with bullets as it dropped a SAM down to the communist troops to help them shoot down Allied aircraft. However, the Allied troops were successful in evicting the Viet Cong and Pathet Lao from their positions after suffering quite a few losses. They met up with Laotian troops at the border of their sectors, signifying the end of the operation. 100 Viet Cong/Pathet Lao troops died in the main area of operations alone, in addition to unspecified numbers in the areas bombed or "naped".

Aftermath
Communist insurgents in Laos were forced to retreat to tunnel networks and limit their arms smuggling to these tunnels in order to evade USAF bombardment, but progressively, US army operations decreased as their troops withdrew from Southeast Asia. The American air force also decreased its role into 1973, and the Ho Chi Minh and Sihanouk Trails resumed full operation.